Acid stable gel stick antiperspirant compositions and process for making them

A process for making an antiperspirant gel stick composition, having acidic pH, comprising:

• (a) preparing a solution containing from about 0.5% to about 10%, by weight of the final composition, of a dibenzylidene alditol gelling agent, a solvent for said gelling agent, and from about 0.05% to about 5%, by weight of the final composition, of a gelling agent stabilizer, said stabilizer being at least partially soluble in said solution, and being a salt of an acid having pKa of from about 3.8 to about 6.5 at ambient temperature, said salt being selected from the group consisting of C.sub.4 -C.sub.6 alkyl dicarboxylates, C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 alkyl monocarboxylates, unsubstituted benzoates, and mono-halogen-, mono-, di-, and tri-hydroxy, methyl, ethyl, and mono- and di-methoxy substituted benzoates, and mixtures thereof, wherein said gel stabilizer does not contain amino or amido functionalities;
• (b) mixing an antiperspirant active into said solution;
• and
• (c) cooling said solution to form a gel;
• wherein said gel has an average penetration value of from about 60 to about 200 tenths of a millimeter at ambient temperature.